LEE COUNTY— The Florida Department of Health in Lee County is proud to add the City of Cape Coral to the list of Healthy Weight Community Champions with a presentation at the February 2, 2015 City Council meeting. The city was recognized for its 90 miles of bicycle and pedestrian roadway signage and its parks and recreation programs.

“The City of Cape Coral has really stepped up to improve its bikeability for residents and visitors with these newly marked routes,” said Robert Palussek, DOH-Lee administrator. “We look for more champions to arise out of the municipal and county governments in Lee County.”

The City of Cape Coral is being recognized for demonstrating a positive impact to the health environment in the community by adopting engineering design standards and land use and development regulations which ensure that new and redeveloped roadways will facilitate multimodal transportation. The city has: 202 miles of sidewalks, 110 miles of bike lanes, 9 miles of bike paths, 3.75 miles of multi-use paths and 90 miles of bike routes that interconnect the City’s park system.

The City of Cape Coral’s Parks and Recreation Department has a Summer Camp Fitness and Nutrition policy committed to providing at least 60 minutes of physical activity a day to children participating in the camp. In addition, camps serve only water, milk and juice as beverages.

Lee County and the City of Fort Myers were both champions in 2014. The Community Champions program is part of the Department’s Healthiest Weight Florida Initiative.

Healthiest Weight Florida is a public-private collaboration bringing together state agencies, notfor- profit organizations, businesses and entire communities to help Florida’s children and adults make consistent, informed choices about healthy eating and active living. Florida’s county and municipal governments play an important role in increasing the prevalence of healthy weight in their jurisdictions.

The Department works to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts.